


i gotta take you into my moonlight (before i let you inside of my heart)

by minjilix



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Art Student Kang Taehyun, Attempt at Humor, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Choi Soobin, Charming Choi Yeonjun, Crimes & Criminals, Detective Choi Beomgyu, Detective Choi Soobin, Detective Huening Kai, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Meitantei Conan | Detective Conan References, Mention of Death, Mentioned Jo Haseul, Mentioned Yang Jeongin | I.N, Mild Angst, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Slow Burn, Thief Choi Yeonjun, Whipped Choi Soobin, i mean its a deconan au cmon, implied jeonggyu, ish, murder mention, not too heavy tho, side tyunning, yj giggles a lot i didnt realize
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26812915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minjilix/pseuds/minjilix
Summary: “Beautiful isn’t it?” He lifts the hand that’s holding the sapphire, putting it against the light of the moonlight, it shines even brighter than under the artificial bulbs of the museum. “Something so precious...All alone, how sad, don’t you think…”“Yeah,” Soobin agrees. But neither of them are looking at the stone anymore.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu & Choi Soobin, Choi Soobin & Huening Kai, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Yeonjun & Kang Taehyun
Comments: 12
Kudos: 84





	i gotta take you into my moonlight (before i let you inside of my heart)

**Author's Note:**

> [screams into the void] hi, i've had this in my drafts for months and i've writing it on and off and today i finally sat down and finished it!!  
> disclaimers: this is a detective conan + magic kaito au, it's mostly the concepts and some of the plot but you really don't have to have watched/read them to understand. i do make some references and all that but whatever :p  
> i advice u to look up pics of kaito kid's suit and hang glider before reading lol
> 
> cw for the mention of kindapping and death of a kid, is not in detail or explicit but soobin does talk about it. 
> 
> title from loonatic by odd eye circle (loona) 

There's a bright, blue gem in his kitchen. 

It's shining obnoxiously from where it's neatly placed in a delicate velvet box in the middle of his countertop, the light from the sun coming in through the window making it almost blinding.

He narrowly missed crashing into the doorframe of his kitchen when he was half asleep walking in to have his late breakfast —late because it was almost one in the afternoon, too many cases to go over, too little time in the day— 

He stares at it for a while, his brain not fully functioning as of the moment, sleep clinging to the corners of his mind as he tries to comprehend the sight before him. There's a full twelve second pause where Soobin is just hypnotized by the reflecting lights on the gem before he snaps out of his sleep induced daze, stalks forward towards the window and closes the curtains—albeit with more force than necessary if the way he hears a slight rip is to go by but hey there's a diamond in his kitchen and he's pretty sure he knows _who_ put it there— to stop the thing from looking like a very bright and most likely deadly to the eye disco ball.

He leans in against the counter, arms crossed over the surface and face close enough to the diamond that he can see the little note that's attached to the bottom of the box sticking out.

He grabs it, lifting an eyebrow at the perfectly scribbled words, a calligraphy he hates to say he's very familiar with.

**_"Last night was fun, detective-nim, but now please take care of my friend here and return her for me! Thank you~_ **

**_-Kaito Kid"_ **

Soobin huffs, irritated at the thief's antics, it's not the first time he's made Soobin return the stolen gem but it is the first time he hasn't either delivered it to his office or given it to him ten seconds before he flies away on his hang glider. For a moment he wonders if he should be concerned about Kid knowing his home address and the fact that he had clearly broken in even though Soobin always makes sure to lock every door and window in the house —he decides that no, is nothing to worry about, he is after all a famous detective, his address can be known by anyone (and no matter what Beomgyu says it has nothing to do with the bouquet of blue roses he found on his coffee table three days later)—

That's how it starts, Kid leaving the stolen things at his house more often than not, small notes attached to them every time, varying from Kid politely asking him to return the gem to him shamelessly trying pick up lines on Soobin and failing miserably when all Soobin does is roll his eyes and throw them in the garbage bin before he pockets the gem and leaves for work.

There was a time where Kid would make a great spectacle of giving the gem back, sometimes fireworks were included, loud and bright and once they even spelled his name (well, actually it said _"Detective-Nim"_ encircled by a bright red heart), and that's where Soobin decided not to gratify Kid with his annoyance at the fact that he couldn't concentrate on his case files when there are fireworks popping obnoxiously outside his office window at four pm.

Now though, he seems to prefer to quietly but insistently annoy Soobin into him returning the stuff. Soobin is surprised there _hasn't_ been any fireworks inside his room or kitchen every time he wakes up to find the latest stolen gem sitting prettily atop any visible surface Kid had chosen was appropriate to display it in until Soobin woke up. He can't say he's not glad. 

By the time Soobin has basically started functioning on autopilot when it comes to grabbing the thing, pocketing it and going on about his day, breaking his routine for a moment just to pass by Detective Kim's office and drop the gem on his desk with a half grumbled "Here, you're welcome" and then deciding he deserves a coffee for putting up with this ridiculous situation in which he somehow, in a strange and probably just his sleep deprived mind came up with, became Kaito Kid's assistant, tasked with _only_ returning the gems he had so graciously and charmingly stolen the night before and nothing more, by that time, the notes start changing, just slightly.

Where before there was a _"Last night was fun, Detective-Nim"_ now there's a _"Your kitchen is surprisingly bare, Detective-Nim"_ . It's weirdly personal and it makes a blush crawl from Soobin's neck up to his ears, the thought of _Kaito Kid_ snooping through his kitchen as he either slept the night away or was at the office trying to solve a particularly tough case, makes his stomach turn into knots, and not the anxious or dreading kind of knots that leave you paralyzed, but the kind he used to get when he was still in high school and his crush from a year above him talked to him in the halls where it left him flustered and breathless, and he mentally berates himself for even remotely feeling anything for that thief that isn't unadulterated hatred and/or absolute dislike for his law breaking hobby. 

He groans despite himself and drops his head onto his desk, fortunately cushioned by the many amount of manila folders currently stacked into a pile in front of him, even so he can't help but wish they weren't there just to see if he gets a concussion maybe he'll stop having a crush on an internationally wanted thief, a thief that he doesn't even know the real name of, a thief that, for all they know could actually end up being a forty-something old man with a bad case of Being A Creep that has a disguise kink and likes to catfish people. (even though he knows Kaito Kid is in his twenties, insanely attractive, and prefers to disguise himself as Soobin more often than not because apparently annoying and frustrating Soobin seems to be his favorite activity right after being a lowly thief). 

"What's got your panties in a twist this morning, Soobin-ah?" Beomgyu asks as he enters his office with a new stack of manila folders all precariously balanced on the crook of his arm, as he tries —and almost fails— to carry two takeout coffee cups with his other hand. Soobin watches with a glare as Beomgyu unceremoniously manages to put down everything on top of the desk without burning himself with the coffee or covering Soobin's office floor in case papers and battered manila folders 

"First of all, it's _hyung_ to you," he's still glaring at Beomgyu from where he has his face partially hidden by his arms and the stack of papers, only resurfacing from it when Beomgyu lifts his eyebrow and offers him one of the coffee cups "And second of all, nothing has my panties in a twist because I don't wear panties and even if I did there's absolutely nothing that would twist them" 

He pointedly does not look at Beomgyu as he says the last part, opting to inspect a very suspicious stain on his carpet that he thinks may have been from that time Hueningkai tried to juggle three bottles of chocolate milk for a bet and ended up staining almost every corner of Soobin's office, including the ceiling, somehow.

Beomgyu just looks at him, eyebrows raised behind his cup and completely not believing any of the words that just came out of Soobin's mouth. He kinda wishes he didn't know the guy since they were sixteen, he let Beomgyu in too deep and now he can read Soobin like a children's book, easy, very comprehensible and sometimes too ridiculous to keep reading. He hates him

"So this definitely has nothing to do with Kaito Kid suddenly making himself at home in your house." He's not asking, he's stating, a shit eating grin stretching across his lips as he props his legs up onto the armrest of Soobin's visitor chair, looking far too smug for Soobin's liking. 

He doesn't dignify him with an answer, preferring to keep his mouth busy by swallowing a mouthful of his burning hot coffee, which he regrets instantly because it's _burning hot coffee_ , he splutters, dropping the cup into his lap and successfully not only staining his pants but also burning himself yet again. Beomgyu laughs delighted, putting his own cup down on the desk in order to clap uncontrollably as he chokes on a wheeze, loud enough that he's sure Yoongi-hyung is gonna come scold them for being "loud brats" for the third time this week. 

Two unhelpful and partially ripped napkins are thrown at his face as he uselessly fans his pants with a case file, he glares half heartedly at Beomgyu before grabbing them and dabbing his ruined clothes, trying to soak up as much of the coffee as he can.

When he's done completely rendering the napkins useless, he throws them in the garbage bin under his desk, wishing he could throw himself along with them. His legs sting, there's a puddle of now sticky lukewarm coffee in the middle of his chair, and he didn't bring any change of clothes, meaning he's gonna have to wear the division's ugly sweatpants that definitely do not go with his formal work shirt and tie. 

He voices this to Beomgyu, who just hums, like he's deep in thought, like he does when he wants to appear smart in front of the starry eyed new intern that Soobin vaguely remembers is named Jeongin, and looks at him with that mischievous glint in his eyes that tells Soobin he's about to be insufferable and annoying.

"Well, since I'm sure Kid knows every part of your house seeing as how he's kind of living there now, why don't you ask him to retrieve some clothes for you?" 

Before his head can be filled with mushy thoughts about the domesticity in Kid not only bringing him clothes at his place of work but also going through Soobin's wardrobe to pick a pair of pants that would be appropriate for work, he chucks his pen at Beomgyu and tells him to get out. The pen hits him on the head and makes him wince, but he recovers quickly before Soobin can throw the pen holder at him next, standing up and backing away towards the door as Soobin eyes the heavy silver stapler in his desk and then at Beomgyu, who seems to catch on quickly on his intentions and smiles at him, arms raised in surrender but his eyes still tell Soobin he's not gonna let it go for a long time.

Soobin levels him with his best "if you wake up tomorrow at the bottom of the ocean with your feet and hands tied to your back just know it was your own fault" glare and watches as he scurries out the door and into the corridor. 

He faintly hears Beomgyu's laugh in the distance.

Soobin gets sick the day of Kid's next heist. 

He wakes up with his face pressed against his desk, back arched in a painfully uncomfortable position, there's a steadily building pressure at the back of his head and it feels like if he were to move his neck even an inch it'll snap in half. 

His eyelids are heavy with sleep and sickness, he has to fight for at least twenty seconds to get them open— big mistake, there's light coming in through his slightly open curtains shining dangerously bright into his eyes, making him shut them tight, headache worsening as he sits upright, and maybe the gods spared him this time as his neck does in fact not snap in half but just cracks loudly, making him wince. 

He had stayed up till late into the night, the recent murder case he had been assigned to occupying his mind all day, even as he helped the Kid task force figure out the heist notice and finished solving a small case of fraud that didn't even belong to his division. 

The killer had used a very complicated method and it had taken Soobin more time than he's proud to admit to solve how he had pulled it off. He'd ended up falling asleep as he revised the last parts of the case, making sure everything was in order before he sent it off to Detective Kim. 

He groans as he stands up on wobbly legs, barely making it to the kitchen, where he blindly searches for the pills he's sure he put in the cabinet above the sink last time he got sick. After he doesn't find any, he opts for just drinking a glass of water and stumbling back into his room before face planting onto his bed. 

Disappointed thoughts of missing Kid's heist fade to the back of his mind as he falls asleep in a clouded haze of pain from his cold. 

The next time he wakes up is to a damp cloth being gently pressed to his forehead.

His head no longer feels like it's gonna split in two, and he doesn't feel like he'll start hallucinating dancing corpses any minute now, and even though he's pretty sure if he tried to stand up he'd puke all over the bed, is at least an improvement.

"Hyuka…" he mumbles softly as he feels a hand against his cheek

"Oh, wow, and here I thought I was the only man in your life that could touch you like this," 

His eyes snap open at the sound of the voice that definitely does not belong to Hueningkai, and he sits up, which, bad idea because now the entire room is spinning and his stomach feels like it's about to hurl itself out his mouth.

"Wow! hey, slow down, hotshot," Kid says as he puts his hands on Soobin's shoulders and pushes him to lay down on the bed again.

Kid's back is against the window, the curtains are open and Soobin can see that it's already dark out, the milky light from the moon shining down on Kid and making his blue hair look as bright as the diamond he left in Soobin's kitchen all those months ago. 

"What are you doing here," he manages to croak out even as he winces when his throat feels like sandpaper and he gives Kid what he hopes is a menacing glare even if his eyes are puffy from sleep and the cold that is starting to feel more like a deadly disease than just a simple flu. 

His immune system hates him. 

"I just came to see why my favorite detective didn't go to my, very anticipated and hyped up, heist" Kid pauses for a moment to reach towards Soobin's nightstand and offer him a glass of water that Soobin accepts after some consideration that Kid is a thief, not a killer, he wouldn't poison Soobin "And then I found you passed out in your bed and looking like you had been run over...so, uh..yeah" 

The more he talks the more bashful he looks, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as he stares at a spot above Soobin's shoulder. 

Soobin has seen Kid's face before. The first time it had been while Kid was saving them from plummeting to their death after falling—being thrown off. don't even ask Soobin how because he can barely remember how that came to be— of an airship, his hat had blown off with the wind and Soobin had a front row view to his insanely and unfairly gorgeous face. Sharp, dark, cat-like eyes stared at him in shock, Kid's plump lips parted in a perfect 'o' shape that Soobin thought had to be a disguise because no one had the right to look that breathtaking while basically free falling from the sky. Before he could say anything Kid had turned him around and promptly let him fall into a bush that was sturdy enough to save him from breaking any limbs. 

After that Kid had voluntarily shown his real, no mask or make-up, face to Soobin. It had been after a particularly tough heist where someone had hired a sniper to try and take Kid down, but Soobin had ended up realising and soon locating the guy before he could actually hurt Kid. 

They were on the roof, he was breathing heavily as he finally managed to catch up to the thief, looking at him defiantly. 

He had smirked, that annoyingly attractive smirk that he's sure Kid only used with him, before he took his hat off, monocle still in place but barely doing anything to hide his, now exposed to the moonlight and varying artificial lights, face.

"Well, tonight was fun," Kid had said gleefully as he definitely enjoyed the fact he had rendered Soobin speechless. "See you next time, detective-nim" 

he saluted before jumping off of the rooftop, the sound of his hang glider opening deafening to Soobin's ears as he watched him fly away with the wind. Sometimes Soobin thinks, morbidly, that Kid looks like an angel with all his white suits and white hang glider that if you squint it kind of resembles wings. 

He never really understood why Kid had done that, showed his face to him without prompting and then had gone without an explanation. 

Soobin thinks maybe it was his way of saying _"hey, I know you've seen my face already but I wanted to do it on my own terms and also I trust you won't turn me in to the police"_ , or maybe it was just to mock him. He's never been sure about that. Sometimes it feels like he understands Kid more than he should, but other times it feels like there's an unimaginable large wall between them forbidding Soobin from looking deeper than he wants.

Now though, Kid is in his house, inside his bedroom. He's not even wearing his Kaito Kid regalia, just some black jeans and an oversized hoodie. His face on full display even as he's backlit by the moon. 

And Soobin wants to drown in his own tears because there's no way his crush on Kid is going away when he looks like _that._ Like the world is his runway no matter where he is or what he's wearing, even if it's just some stupid jeans and a hoodie he still looks drop dead gorgeous, blue hair contrasting against his skin and making him look like something out of a fairy tale. 

He pushes his face into a pillow and groans, Kid making a worried noise where he's sitting next to him.

"Does anything hurt?" Kid asks, concern evident in his voice, and Soobin briefly wonders what the hell has his life come to that he somehow managed to befriend an internationally wanted thief when his full time job is being a detective that works surrounded by police officers. 

" 'm fine" Soobin mumbles, still with his face pushed into the pillow, maybe if he stays like that for a while he'll be able to suffocate himself to death. 

He hears Kid hum in response, and then the pressure in his bed from Kid sitting on it is gone. Soobin turns his head to the side enough that he can see Kid walking towards his desk and grabbing a tray with food. 

He made him food.

And oh my god Soobin is in love. 

"Knowing you, you probably didn't eat anything did you,"

Soobin shakes his head no and Kid sighs, motioning for him to sit up slowly.

He doesn't know why he's letting Kid do this, maybe it's the fever clogging the rational part of his brain, maybe it's the fact that he wants Kid to keep looking at him like that, all soft eyes and tentative smiles as he places the tray of food on Soobin's lap and helps him eat a mouthful of it without his shaking hands making him drop all of it on the bed. 

Kid watches in silence, a small satisfied smile on his lips as Soobin eats the food.

It's good, way better than the takeout food or ramen he buys at the convenience store when he gets off work. A blush spreads on his cheeks up to his ears as he imagines Kid moving around his kitchen, cooking food for Soobin because he knows him enough to know that he either didn't eat at all or had a cup of ramen and called it a day.

It brings a warm feeling to his chest that he'd rather analyze when he doesn't feel like his entire body is shutting down on him. 

He eats in silence as Kid watches him for a moment before he probably realises that staring at someone while they eat is kinda creepy -even for Kid standards- gets up to roam around the room, stopping in front of Soobin's desk, lightly touching the papers sprawled there.

"That's—" Soobin chokes on a spoonful of rice in his haste to speak "That's a murder case you shouldn't— shouldn't touch, or read that" 

Kid makes a face at him before nodding slowly, taking his hand away from the papers and instead focusing on the books sitting on the shelf above the desk.

They are Soobin's favorite books, most of them a gift from his parents from overseas, half of them aren’t even in korean. 

Kid seems to notice that, looking back at Soobin with a raised brow before going back to scanning the covers after Soobin just gives him a half shrug and burrows back into the covers.

They stay quiet like that for a while, Kid roaming around his room and Soobin taking in the sight of him —and trying to calm himself down from a coughing fit when his sick-muddled brain registers once again that _Kid is in his room_ , normal clothes and all, and it feels intimate in a way that Soobin doesn't want to think about so he shoves it as far back in his mind as he can, burying it under piles of cold cases and murder investigations where it'll never see the light of day again or bother Soobin as he's lying in bed at night questioning all the life choices that led him to this exact moment. 

By the time Kid is done scanning his room and sitting back at the foot of the bed, Soobin is already dozing off again, his head and stomach feeling better than when he first crashed into the bed. He tries to fight the exhaustion, wanting to not be rendered so vulnerable with a wanted thief in his house full of actually really valuable stuff. (Even though he _knows_ Kid wouldn’t actually steal anything, the thought probably hasn’t even crossed his mind at all).

He wakes up again a few hours later to a glass of water and a pill sitting on his nightstand. A note taped to the rim of the glass.

**_“feel better soon, detective!_ **

**_-:)”_ **

It’s been three weeks. Three weeks since Soobin last saw Kid, three weeks since he made some pretty — not really— shocking self-discoveries as Kid sat at the foot of his bed while he was two steps away from hallucinating a dancing corpse. He doesn’t want to think about it, he knows nothing good will come out of it, dwelling on this thing that’s _never_ gonna happen because Kid isn’t interested, probably, and even if he was, he knows better than to shack it up with an internationally wanted thief that the public expects _him_ to catch. Even though it’s not his field and he’d much rather be catching killers than a guy who seems to have a knack for playing tag with a SWAT team.

In retrospect, the thought of even considering having some kind of romantic involvement with Kid is, well, idiotic. He doesn’t even know the guy’s real name for God’s sake, and he doubts Kid will tell him any time soon. It doesn’t matter if Soobin has seen his face, he doesn’t have a name to match it to. (and he won’t admit to anyone, _ever_ , that he spent more time than dignified trying to think what kind of name someone as pretty as Kid could have.)

He sighs, defeated and disappointed with himself, done with the topic already even if the only person that was arguing about it with him was _himself._ So instead of torturing himself with it anymore, he pushes open the door to the coffee shop he'd be walking to, having lost rock-paper-scissors with Beomgyu in who had to do the coffee runs today.

Soobin doesn't usually do the coffee runs, has stopped doing so ever since he was promoted to the homicide division, too busy with cases to even think of taking a break. 

But Beomgyu was being overly annoying and loud, whining and pouting as Soobin shook his head no for the nth time in the past twenty minutes the younger boy had been trying to convince him to go buy the coffees. 

"Why don't you ask Jeongin-ssi?" Soobin said, to which Beomgyu had dramatically gasped and hit his shoulder.

"That'd be rude!" 

"It's literally his job-" 

"Rock paper scissors for who goes," 

And he'd lost. 

So now here he is, standing in line and trying to remember Beomgyu's complicated order that he probably decided was craving the moment Soobin lost because he's that much of an ass. 

By the time he's sure he remembered the order correctly, it's already his turn in line, but as he steps up to the counter, he freezes.

"Hi! What can I get for you today?" Kid asks in a sweet voice, smile in place and eyes shining. 

Soobin just stares at him, mouth open, probably looking like a fool, but he doesn't care. Because _Kid_ is in front of him, an apron with the coffee shop's logo around his waist, blue hair as bright as ever, and a golden name tag shining under the artificial lights.

A name tag.

Soobin doesn't dare look. He doesn't know why. 

Instead he says, "Two iced americanos," and stares at Kid as he nods and puts in his order, tells him the total and smiles sweetly once again when Soobin hands him the cash. 

"Your order will be here shortly, you can wait right there next to the counter or sit by one of the tables," Kid says, and he just nods, opting for sitting in one of the tables, because he feels like his legs are about to give up. 

He doesn't know why it's so shocking to see Kid, he knew the guy most likely had a day job or studied at least, he seemed like the type, and he had to have a life outside of stealing, but Soobin had never crossed paths with him before in his daily life. Because Kid breaking into his house and playing friends is different than him being the barista at the coffee shop Soobin's best friend frequents.

Has he been working here for some time? or is this new? Soobin hadn't seen him around before, neither in the neighbourhood or the shop, does that mean it's recent? Or is Kid playing at something? Soobin has told himself countless of times that not everything Kid does is in favour of playing an imaginary game of cat and mouse with him, or a scheme for one of his heists but sometimes that is hard to believe when unexpected things like these happen and all Kid offers him is a charming smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes. No matter how many times they go toe to toe during a chase or back to back whenever the odds are against them both, Soobin just can't seem to figure Kid out. 

"Order for Soobin-ssi?" the girl on the counter calls and he startles, gaze going from the table to her before he gets to his feet quickly, almost tripping on the leg of the chair. 

"T-that's me!" the girl smiles politely at him and nods, her pink ponytail bobbing with the motion. — _Ryujin_ her name tag reads, and he's reminded he didn't dare read Kid's.— 

Kid is nowhere to be seen, even when he's done taking the coffees and walking through the door, and for a moment Soobin thinks he might have imagined it, maybe the fever-induced hallucinations still aren't entirely gone or maybe he's been thinking so much about Kid these past few _months_ that he forced him into a poor innocent blue-haired barista. Really, his life would be so much simpler and less complex if he hadn't involved himself with the thief. 

"Why the long face?" Is what HueningKai greets him with when he comes into his office to deliver his coffee — that he yelled the order to Soobin moments before he left for the shop— , "Dropped your coffee again?" 

Soobin groans, "Did Beomgyu tell you?" 

"Yup, it took him five minutes to stop laughing but he did tell me." 

"I despise him."

"Sure you do," HueningKai says with the same tone his dad used to say _Of course, champ_ when Soobin asked him if he could live on the moon when he was older, "You didn't answer my question, hyung-ie,"

"Hm? Oh...Nothing just, thought I saw someone," he sighs, exhausted, the memory of Kid smiling at him while wearing a stupid coffee shop uniform still on the forefront of his mind. 

HueningKai is quiet for a second, and then he makes a weird noise between a laugh and being choked by Beomgyu when they are wrestling for the last piece of chicken. 

"You mean Kid?" He turns the cup around and shoves it in Soobin's face, a messily drawn Kid caricature in the center of it, it doesn't look like the typical ones in the heist notes, more rushed and less polished, smeared on one side and the smile a little crooked. But Soobin still recognizes it, is not the first time he's seen a half-assed Kid drawing anyways.

He feels the tip of his ears go warm. So he didn't imagine it, then. 

The sounds of footsteps fill the hallway and they both turn their heads in time to see Beomgyu coming in through the door, his own cup of coffee held high and his chest heaving with his labored breaths. There's a smile on his face and Soobin does _not_ like where this is going. 

"Guess what's on my cup— "

"Save it. I know— " 

"You saw Kid— "

"I'm going back to work!"

"I can't believe Soobin-hyung is dating Kid, that's so cool," Beomgyu says in mock awe.

"I'm not dating Kid!" Soobin scoffs, but gets completely ignored by his dongsaengs. 

HueningKai snorts, "You're literally a detective, shouldn't you be against it?"

"Eh, the dude's kinda cool," Beomgyu shrugs, and Soobin groans again, pushing past him to get out of the door and sticking his tongue out at him when Beomgyu whines about almost making him drop his cup. 

"And for the last time, I'm not dating Kid!" He shouts, and hopes that Detective Kim didn't hear it.

Kid is a menace and there's no way Soobin will live in peace until the guy voluntarily decides to make his life easier and leave for good or he's finally put behind bars. But when he thinks about Kid leaving for good, something in his stomach turns and the idea doesn't seem so appealing anymore. 

There's just something about the idea of Kid living a life where Soobin is not involved in to solve his riddles, or chase him through entire buildings until both of them are dead on their feet— or to stop literal snipers from _actually_ killing him, that makes him feel...uneasy. He knows that Kid is more than capable of taking care of himself, has proved it more than enough times, and it's not like he hadn't been pulling his stunts and heists before Soobin even made it into the force. But he rather likes having the reassurance that he could potentially look out for him, as much as it pains him to admit it, Soobin cares about him, and would be kinda — read _very_ — sad if Kid were to die. Plus, his whole thing is Not letting people die and catching murderers, so really, it goes against all his principles. 

But Kid himself goes against all of his principles too. A thief, a liar, a manipulator, a con artist, the guy probably tells more lies in a day than any normal person does in a month. And yet he can't seem to get himself to stop thinking about him as more than just another criminal he has to catch, — despite, once again, Kid not being part of what he actually is tasked with solving, but whatever. Small details he will gloss over unless Beomgyu decides it's his weekly "let's annoy Soobin-hyung about his crush on a wanted criminal" teasing session— maybe is the fact that he knows more about Kid in a personal level than he ever does about any other culprit he puts behind bars, and the fact that Kid hasn't killed anyone and seems very against violence unless necessary also helps. He supposes.

"Uh, Soobin-ssi?" He looks up to find Jeongin leaning against the doorframe of his office, his shy smile on and a hand raised, "There's someone here to talk to you? It's about that case from last week with the black car and the little girl?"

"Oh? What is it about?" He's already standing as Jeongin answers. 

"He says he's a witness." 

He blinks, staring at Jeongin surprised for a second before nodding.

There hadn't been many witnesses when they got the case, only an older woman and a passerby walking their dog, both of which served almost no help at all, the only thing they'd seen was the car pull off the curb and speed away, no kid in sight or anyone else. No one had come forward except for those two, the zone already shady enough without any kidnappings or murders so Soobin guessed no one said anything in fear of they themselves being found out for something or other, most likely just petty crimes or drugs, but he knows these people won't take any chances.

Jeongin leads him to the cubicles out front, where a blond boy is sitting at officer Jo's desk, hands rubbing together nervously but his face dead serious. Soobin nods at Jeongin and dismisses him, the kid bows before quickly leaving. 

"All yours," officer Jo says, getting up from her chair with a stack of papers under her arms and leaving Soobin and the blond kid alone at the desk. 

"Hi, I'm detective Choi, nice to meet you." he extends his hand, but all the kid does is observe it warily before looking back up at Soobin, his eyes sharp and mouth set in a firm line.

"I know who you are." his voice carries the same hardness as his eyes despite how soft it is.

"O-kay...What's your name, then?" 

"Kang Taehyun." 

Soobin nods again, letting his hand fall and taking a seat on the other side of the desk. The kid- Taehyun, stays silent through the whole thing, sharp, dark eyes trained on Soobin's every moment. 

Despite the way he acts, Soobin can tell the kid is not from that zone, he looks polished, expensive clothes, brand shoes and freshly dyed hair. He even sees a bit of makeup on his face. And of course, the bag with the seal of Seoul's most popular art school doesn't go unnoticed. So why was this kid there? 

"So, Kang Taehyun-ssi, can you tell me what exactly you saw that day?" he grabs a paper and a pen from the desk, smiling at the array of colorful pens with little rubber animals on the ends. 

"Not much, I didn't see their faces or anything, but— " he pauses, looking at Soobin and then down at his hands "One of them had a scar on his arm? On his right arm, it wasn't that big but it was long? like from his wrist to almost his shoulder."

A scar? That's more than the old lady or the guy walking the dog told them. 

"I didn't see a number plate or anything...Just that…" the kid sighs, and Soobin can see he feels bad for not being able to give them more information.

"That's okay. It still helps a lot," he takes another look at the kid and clears his throat, "But may I ask… What were you doing around those parts? You don't seem to be from there." 

Taehyun slumps against his seat, huffing a breath and furrowing his brows. "I was looking for my friend, he tends to get into a lot of trouble by trying to play hero," he looks more relaxed than he's ever been in the ten minutes he's been there, and Soobin can tell he's very fond of whoever he is talking about.

"Oh, I get the feeling. Happens to me all the time with this one," HueningKai says, seemingly coming out of thin air and patting Soobin's shoulder. "The amount of heart attacks I've almost gotten because of him." he shakes his head with a chuckle. 

Taehyun laughs under his breath, his eyes soften with a smile and his shoulders drop. Like that he looks a lot less menacing than seconds before, and a tension that he didn't know he had drains from Soobin, his own shoulders relaxing under HueningKai's hand. 

"Is that all you have, Kang Taehyun-ssi?" He asks for good measure. Taehyun nods wordlessly.

"I also already gave my information and other data she asked to the officer that was here so…"

"Oh, of course. Then there's no need to keep you here any longer, you're free to leave-uh, HueningKai will you accompany him?" 

"Of course!" HueningKai chirps, hands clapping together and a smile on his face. Soobin raises a questioning eyebrow but he's ignored. 

He watches as Taehyun grabs his bag from the floor and the jacket from the back of the chair he was sitting on. When he's done HueningKai puts a gentle hand on his elbow and guides him to start walking. Soobin watches them the whole way and tries not to snicker at the evident redness in HueningKai's ears. He should absolutely tell Beomgyu about it, maybe that way he'll stop being his target for a while. 

He's already in his office when HueningKai returns, knocking on the door twice before entering. 

"Someone left this for you." he hands Soobin a piece of paper. 

"Who?"

"Uh— Taehyun-ssi's friend, I think. He was waiting for him outside." 

**_"I hope this helped, Detective-Nim. And good luck, I'm sure you'll solve it_ **

**_- <3 "_ ** ****

HueningKai startles when Soobin springs to his feet, almost knocking his chair to the ground in his haste to get to the windows behind them.

"Is everything okay?" 

Soobin doesn't respond, instead he searches for _him_ , narrowing his eyes and trying to find a head of blue hair amongst all the people going back and forth on the sidewalk. It shouldn't be that hard to find him, but then again maybe Kid wasn't even dressed like himself, it'd be stupid and risky to get close to a police station without having his face covered-

Neon, yellow hair, cat-like eyes and a charming smile waving at him from right under his window, standing on the sidewalk next to Kang Taehyun. The boy waves and then makes a finger heart before blowing a kiss. Soobin sputters and huffs, glaring at Kid when he laughs and repeats the action. Kang Taehyun seems unimpressed next to him, his elbow jabbing onto Kid's side before he starts to walk away, followed by a hunched over Kid that's still clearly laughing. 

"Annoying prick…" 

"Was that Kid?" The question breaks him out of his daze and he turns around to find an amused HueningKai looking back at him. He rubs the back of his neck and pretends like he doesn't know his face is probably red as a tomato.

"I don't know what you're talking about," 

"..." The younger boy sighs, "I'll pretend I believe you but only because I gotta get back to work." 

Soobin pours himself into the case for the following three days, barely getting a blink of sleep and getting reprimanded by officer Jo when she catches him on his fourth cup of coffee of the day. Soobin knows there's barely no hope left for the kid, the chances of her still being alive are slim to none, but that doesn't mean he can't do his best to apprehend the culprits and bring justice to the family— he tells so to Beomgyu when the younger man tries to drag him to bed and force him to sleep for at least seven hours, saying that the case could with because it'd still be there in the morning.

"That's the problem," he had mumbled, and Beomgyu had stayed quiet as he pulled the covers over him. 

The end of the third day finds Soobin in the back alley of a storage unit, pulling the handcuffs tight against a man double his size and forcing him into the back of a patrol car with a glare that made the guy cower. The parents of the kid didn't contact him again after he broke the news to them and he didn't dwell on it.

It was a bad case, they always are when it comes to children, and Soobin always feels like there's a heavier weight on his shoulders than there was when they were still working on it. He used to beat himself up over it for weeks back when he was younger and newer, believing he didn't do all he could and that he should've brought them back safe no matter what. 

But with time he's learned that you can't save everyone no matter how hard you try, and while that doesn't alleviate the pain in his chest or the frustration he feels, it helps him cope with the losses. 

"Hey," Beomgyu knocks softly on his door, drawing his attention back from where he was staring intently at the open folder of his recent case. "Me and Hyejoo are gonna get something to drink, wanna come?" 

He could use a drink right now, of any kind really, but his body is lagging and his mind is screaming at him to rest for once now that he can. 

He shakes his head, "I think I'm gonna go home. Eat something and then sleep." 

Beomgyu lights up at that, a smile on his face as he nods enthusiastically. Soobin snorts at how excited he is at the mention of Soobin finally doing something for himself.

"Good! Text me when you get home- _And_ actually eat something, okay?" 

"Go it, no need to lecture me." 

They exchange quick goodbyes and Beomgyu leaves, leaving Soobin to himself and his muddled thoughts. 

He stares out the window and watches the people pass by, bundled in scarves and jackets, beanies pulled low on their heads and mittens doing their best to keep their fingers warm. Christmas is near, and Soobin sighs at the idea of spending another holiday without his parents, but knowing his best friends they'll probably invite themselves to his home to celebrate, or drag him to one of their families' parties. Not that he minds as much as he fusses about it, it makes him feel cared for and like someone appreciates having him there.

A thought pops in his head as he watches a couple interlock arms and lean on each other for support as they walk together so tightly they almost trip with every step, does Kid have anyone to spend the holidays with?

Obviously he doesn't know about Kid's personal life at all. All he knows is that this Kid is most likely the son of the previous Kid who used to pull heists and stunts back in the 80's, but since the original Kid has been rumoured dead for years now, and really, everything points to it unless the dude is a master at faking his own death — which Soobin wouldn't pass up on that idea— he assumes that Current-Kid has no father. As for his mother, he doesn't have a clue, of course.

Soobin doesn't know what it's like to lose a loved one like that, the closest he has gotten was when his grandparents passed away, but even then he wasn't as close to them as he used to be when he was a kid, thus their deaths weren't as jarring as they could've been. It makes him curious about Kid's motives too. At first he thought he was just another show-off thief with a fanfare for theatrics, but the more he got closer to the real Kid (or as real as it could get when all you saw was a face hidden in the shadows of a ridiculous top hat and a monocle) the more he realized Kid was _looking_ for something. Whenever he gives what he steals back, is because it's not what he's looking for, and Soobin wonders what's so precious to him that he goes all out and puts his life on the line so precariously, what's the thing that could possibly make Kid stop with his reckless acts. 

Their dynamic is very much a push and pull from both sides, always toeing the line between rivals and something more, something that makes Soobin falter in his steps when he gets close enough to catch Kid, or that makes _Kid_ stop in his tracks and make sure Soobin gets up every time he falls. Not to even mention the countless times they've worked hand in hand during a case, or the times Soobin has thoughtlessly put himself between Kid and a possible bullet to the head. But he's never dared to _ask_ what exactly Kid is so desperately trying to find, and maybe Kid would tell him, maybe he'd smile like he always does and tell Soobin whatever he needs to know to settle his mind for the night, but it feels oddly…personal. Like he's crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed unless Kid gives the approval to do so. It's complicated, that's what it is, and Soobin seems to never know where he stands. 

It's colder outside than it looked from the window, and Soobin pulls his coat tighter against his body, huffing out a breath and watching as it turns into swirls of fog in front of his face. He doesn't like winter that much. 

The streets are almost deserted but now quite, late enough for teens and kids to be sleeping or awake in their rooms, but early enough for adults to roam the streets in late night dinners or drinks with co-workers. He walks without really knowing where he is going, his house feels strangely empty these days and he knows he won't be able to get an ounce of sleep even if he tried.

There's a park nearby where he used to go with HueningKai in their early days, maybe he could stay there for a bit until he knows he can finally sleep properly- he stumbles backwards as somebody collides onto him.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" A familiar voice says, a hand finding its way on his arm and holding him upright with a surprising strength. He looks up to find Kang Taehyun looking at him with a concerned expression. 

"Kang Taehyun-ssi," he says dumbly, and then shakes himself out of his stupor "D-don't worry! It's okay I wasn't looking where I was going," 

"Are you okay?" Taehyun asks, his hand still on Soobin's arm, holding it tight as if Soobin might slip and fall the moment he lets go.

He nods and tries to give him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, really." 

The blond nods, a sigh leaving his lips as he retracts his hand and clutches the strap of his bag that's hanging off of his right shoulder. There's an awkward silence for a moment before he perks up, wide doe eyes looking at Soobin.

"I heard you were able to catch the culprits, how did it go?" he asks, and there's a sort of hopeful undertone to it that makes Soobin's chest feel tight. 

"I— Yeah we caught them but…" sighing, he wonders how many times he's gotta keep giving bad news to good people. "The probabilities of finding the kid were slim to none after two days had passed so…"

Taehyun stays silent then, his brows furrowing and lips pursing in clear distaste.

"I see…"

"But, your statement helped us a lot, so for that I'm grateful. Thank you, really." He knows it's not enough to get rid of the bitter taste of a loss like that, he's been in Taehyun's shoes way too many times to not comprehend, but he hopes it at least relieves a small fraction of the feeling of failure. 

"Oh." Taehyun smiles at him, almost shyly, "I-I'm glad then," he lets out a breath, Soobin nods in understanding. 

He stares at the blond for a second as his mind takes a moment to form a coherent thought, lagged and muddled from the lack of sleep and the many emotions swirling inside him. 

"Oh!" He startles Taehyun with how loud his voice is, he smiles apologetically. "Your friend, the one that was with you the day you came to the station,"

Taehyun's posture changes then, his shoulders go up and he stands straighter, his eyes take that sharp edge that they had the first time they met. 

"What about him?" Taehyun asks wearily. 

"I just wanted to kn— " 

"Tyun! There you are!" Someone says, and oh does Soobin know who. 

Taehyun turns around just in time for Kid to reach them, that damned smile on his face and his eyes twinkling under the fairy lights strewn as decoration around the streets and inside the shops. He looks unfairly gorgeous, as always. 

His hair is pink instead of blue, — or yellow like that time— and Soobin is slightly worried for his scalp but also pissed off at how this guy is able to pull off anything no matter how ridiculous it'd look on anyone else.

"Oh? And who's this?" Kid asks, doing nothing to hide the fact that he knows exactly who Soobin is. 

Taehyun seems to think the same because he just raises an eyebrow at Kid and keeps quiet. Kid giggles, delighted with the situation, and Soobin wills his heart to not skip a beat at the sound. 

There's a beat of silence where Kid is just looking at Soobin, sharp eyes glinting with unrestrained glee and Soobin doesn't know why he isn't trying to do something about it.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Taehyun-ssi." Bowing slightly he bids them goodbye and pretends not to notice Kid's smile getting smaller.

Is not like he could've done something about Kid being there. Doesn't matter how many people believe in bos judgement and trust him with their lives, he has no proof that that boy is Kid. He really can't do anything. 

Or so he keeps telling himself until he finally falls asleep and manages to temporarily erase the memory of Kid's eyes shining under the fairy lights like one of the many diamonds and precious stones he steals. 

A note for Kid's next heist comes in a week before Christmas and the entire precinct complains about it for a good two hours before being shut down by Detective Kim saying half of them don't even have to work on the case. He pointedly doesn't look at Soobin when he says it and he knows it means another night of slaving trying to solve a code that isn't even meant for him. He's gonna have a very serious talk with Kid when he sees him next, probably force him to make the notes easier for the actual Kid Task Force to solve so Soobin can finally go a Heist Week without being involved in it. -he pretends he can fool himself into thinking he wouldn't fall right into Kid's traps and games and end up chasing him through ten flights of stairs and into the roof just to see him make his escape like he always does— 

"How can you be so smart yet so dumb?"

"What?" 

Beomgyu is once again invading his office, feet carelessly perched on top of his desk and his fingers playing with the single blue rose that came attached to the note Jeongin got delivered to him. He's halfway through cracking the code, and he's sure Kid's next target is a red sapphire that used to belong to some ancient queen that's being shown in the new museum that was built a few months ago, he just needs to figure out the exact time and-

"I mean, the dude puts on entire shows just for you, constantly sends you roses or any other type of romantic flowers, _and_ is making it more than easy for you to catch him," 

"I don't know where you're going with this— "

"How many times has Kid to confess his undying love for you in order for you to get it?" Beomgyu finishes, almost speaking over him. The rose falls from his hand and lands on the desk right on top of Kid's note. He stares at it and pretends Beomgyu's words aren't making his heart squeeze into itself. 

"He's not confessing anything to anyone, he's just playing," he puts a finger up cutting Beomgyu off before he can say anything, "And besides, I don't think you should be encouraging me to date a criminal, Gyu-ah." 

Beomgyu stares at the rose and then back up at him, where Soobin expected to find a playful or mocking expression, he only finds the serious set of his mouth and the furrow of his brows.

"I'm not encouraging you to date a criminal, I'm just pushing my best friend to make a decision that makes him happy without worrying about other people for once," he puts his feet down, "Kid is not a bad dude, sure he's a thief and is wanted in more countries than I thought possible, but he has never harmed anyone and he's protected you more times than even I've had."

Soobin is shocked, he knows Beomgyu can get real when he wants to, but he never expected this from him. A talk about his _feelings_ for _Kid_ of all people. 

“Listen, I’m not sayin’ you should date the guy, but, figure out what you’re gonna do with all those feelings of yours because it's getting kinda pathetic to see you pine after someone you don’t even know the name of.” And that’s the normal Beomgyu he knows, but his voice still has that tone that tells Soobin he’s being serious despite his words, and the hand squeezing his heart holds it a little tighter. He never wants to make Beomgyu worry about him more than he already does. 

Beomgyu is mostly right, Soobin can’t keep playing dumb. He’s not oblivious to what he and Kid have— or could have, or whatever it may be. But it is still a dangerous game, for the both of them.

Soobin cares about Kid, cares about him more than he’d like to admit and honestly to a worrying degree sometimes, courtesy of Kid’s head almost being snipped by hired hitmen more times that should be normal, and he knows that if something were to...Happen between them, it’d mean Soobin would _know_ how he really is. It’s a risk he doesn’t know if Kid is willing to take. One he doesn’t know if he himself is willing to take either. 

He has thought about it, in the nights he can’t sleep and his thoughts are unanswered questions of what games is Kid playing at, and _why_ does he trust Soobin so much that he decided he could see his face. More than once. More than twice, really. Either Kid truly believes Soobin feels the same for him or will play along, or he’s that stupid— Which Soobin can’t rule that one out either, he’s seen the guy almost choke on his own trained pigeons feathers, really. 

He groans, letting his head fall against his desk and closing his eyes, the beginnings of a headache making itself known at the base of his skull. How has his life come to this, he used to be so content when all he did was solve murders and petty crimes when in his free time.

 _“I'm just pushing my best friend to make a decision that makes him happy without worrying about other people for once”_ Jesus, when did Beomgyu become so introspective. 

The days leading up to Kid’s Christmas Heist have him a jittery mess, partly from all the coffee he’s consumed and partly because Beomgyu’s words keep replaying in his head every time Kid is brought up and he remembers the fact that the night is most likely gonna end up with him chasing Kid into the rooftop of the museum. 

At least he was able to figure out that Kid planned to do it fifteen minutes before midnight, not very considerate of him for the officers that were gonna spend the night with their families but hey, at least he’s putting on a show for free—mostly for free, but it’s not like he’s gonna keep the thing anyways, Soobin already has a suspicion that this is not what he’s looking for and that’s is more an spectacle than one of his more serious heists—

“Soobin-ssi!” Officer Jo snaps her fingers in front of his face and he blinks down at her, “You’ve been staring at the coffee pot for the past five minutes, are you okay?”

“Huh?...Oh! Yeah, yeah—” She clicks her tongue at him and takes the cup of freshly brewed coffee from his hand. He whines in protest but she shuts him down with a look.

“You’ve had enough coffee to last you another ten years, start drinking tea or something.”

“Tea also has caffeine,” He cowers under her gaze and decides to go back to his office and his case files that won’t judge him for his daily, and unhealthy intake of caffeine.

There’s what seems to be an endless crowd of people when Soobin finally gets to the museum, wrinkling his nose at how many of them are pushing at the guards and screaming Kid’s name like he’s some kind of pop-star celebrity. 

“C’mon, five minutes until the asshole shows up,” Officer Hwang grumbles, gently pushing Soobin out of the patrol car. She’s one of the many whose date was interrupted by Kid and his need to do a heist in the middle of the holidays, coupled that with the fact that he seems to have a favoritism for targeting her when it comes to his pranks, Officer Hwang isn’t too fond of Kid, and Soobin is kinda worried tonight is the night she finally snaps. No that it’d be undeserved.

He follows her lead to the back entrance of the building and watches with pity as the rest of the force give each other quick pep-talks, having to delude themselves into thinking they can catch Kid _today for sure_ every single time. They’ll probably go crazy if they didn’t, really Kid has no mercy for these people.—He knows that Kid cares about these people even though he’d never admit it, but he’s saved them from danger one times too many for a criminal— 

The sapphire is even more mesmerizing up close, the lights of the room reflecting off of it and giving it almost an ethereal glow. Despite its years it held up pretty well, and Soobin is impressed by the care that went into it. He can see how Kid would find these types of things so rare and beautiful, they really are a sight to behold when looking at it the way it should be looked at. 

The wait is anxious as it always is when it comes to the heists, wondering what tricks the thief is gonna pull out this time, his background as a magician making itself known during his shows. It’s only when the lights go out and someone curses that Soobin knows it has started. The sounds of footsteps echo among the room, officers trying to get to the emergency switches and trying to alert the other tasks that Kid is already there. Soobin just waits...And there it is.

Kid’s monocle glinting in the dark like it always seems to do, taunting Soobin into a new round of cat and mouse. 

The lights come on again and everyone stops, disoriented and momentarily blinded. Kid is balancing himself in mid air, seemingly walking on air, his cape flowing with the small gust of wind that comes through the cracked window and Soobin wonders who was the fool that facilitated his escape route. 

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen!” Kid’s voice echoes inside the room and Soobin can faintly hear it coming from some kind of speakers outside too. The cheers of the people around the museum drown it out. “I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I am deeply sorry to have intruded like that.” he bows, his top ridiculous top hat never even attempting to fall off of his head. Soobin is starting to think he glues it on.

“Get him!” Someone yells, and the rest is chaos. 

Kid laughs, the sounds bouncing off of the walls and into Soobin’s chest, making him suppress a smile of his own. Kid runs and jumps in the air, avoiding any and all punches thrown at him, and before Soobin has any time to start figuring out how the hell he’s doing that, he’s slipping away towards the stairs, a dummy Kid in his place that momentarily distracts the task force as he makes his escape. Soobin runs to follow him.

He’s not new to this, he knows the steps to this dance like he knows the back of his hand. Kid’s taunts reach his ears despite him not being anywhere near his sight, and Soobin clueing himself on where he’s heading depending on where Kid’s footsteps are echoing until he sees the tail of his white cape round the corners. 

The roof, of course, because it wouldn’t be a Kid heist if he didn’t bait Soobin onto the roof where he knows the only one who can get out of there without using the stairs is himself. And Soobin follows, knowing too. He pushes the doors open, huffing at the strain but pushing through anyways, chest heaving but the grin already forming on his lips.

And there Kid is, standing on the ledge of the roof, cape blowing behind him with the force of the cold winter wind. Soobin shivers, his flimsy jean jacket not doing anything to keep out the cold.

“So nice to finally meet you again, Detective,” Kid greets. His smile seems different tonight.

“Don’t know if I can say the same, Thief.” 

Kid laughs, the monocle glinting under the moonlight, but it’s not taunting Soobin to a chase anymore, they are both cornered now. 

“Beautiful isn’t it?” He lifts the hand that’s holding the sapphire, putting it against the light of the moonlight, it shines even brighter than under the artificial bulbs of the museum. “Something so precious...All alone, how sad, don’t you think…”

“Yeah,” Soobin agrees. But neither of them are looking at the stone anymore.

“Why have you come today, Detective?” Kid asks, stepping down from the ledge and walking closer, head cocked to the side and the smile never wavering. 

“Figured you’d sulk again if I didn’t,” _I want to see if something changes tonight_ , is his real answer, but he won’t say it. Doesn’t dare to. 

“Yeah? Just because of that?” Kid is getting closer now, he’s backlit by the moon and Soobin is reminded of that night in his bedroom when Kid seemed the most vulnerable he’d ever seen him. He wants to see that him again, beautiful and _himself_ , no masks, no lies, no magic tricks. 

“Should there be anything else?” 

A firework goes off, and Soobin realizes it is already past twelve. The sky lights up with more colors, and Kid gets closer and closer until he’s standing close enough that Soobin can feel the body heat radiating off of him. He can also see his smile better, softer at the edges than his usual one. Soobin’s heart skips a beat.

“Here,” Kid says and takes Soobin’s hand in his, placing the stone gently on it and then closing his fist. “Return after the day of the heist policy.”

“That doesn’t exist,” Soobin responds.

“It does in my book!”

“Well your book sucks”

He thinks about Beomgyu’s words, about all the times Kid has trusted him with a side of himself that no one knows. He thinks about the times he’s let his own guard down in front of Kid, deeming him trustworthy and _safe_. And Soobin is a fool, he’s a damn fool because only fools far for thieves with a knack for magic tricks and theatrics, and only fools ignore all the signs pointing towards their real identity in order to keep seeing them like this, in their own game, their own world. 

“Kid—”

“Can I kiss you?”

Another firework goes off in the background and Kid is washed in pink lights. Soobin nods. 

The sapphire is digging into his hand where he’s holding it tightly, pressed up against Kid’s waist as he draws him closer. Kid’s lips are as soft as Soobin imagined they’d be, but they feel even better than anything he could’ve thought of. 

“I’m a fool,” Soobin laments with a laugh when they separate, foreheads touching and their breaths mingling into one as they become swirls of fog in between the small space separating them. “I’m the only idiot who would fall for Kaito Kid, really.”

Kid giggles, his arms drawing Soobin closer, lips touching as he speaks “Choi Yeonjun.”

Soobin blinks, eyes going wide and Kid’s smile seems to get bigger, eyes shining. _Choi Yeonjun_ , the name feels right on his tongue and on his mind, the hand inside his chest finally stops squeezing his heart and Soobin feels like he can breathe easier than he did in years.

“Nice to meet you, Choi Yeonjun.”

“Nice to meet you too, Choi Soobin.” 

  
  


“Are we just gonna pretend like we don’t know who he is or—” Beomgyu says, mouth around a piece of the sweet bun Yeonjun bought for them on his way to the station.

“This is absolutely the first time I’ve seen Yeonjun-ssi. I have _no_ idea who he may be.” HueningKai declares, hands reaching for his third bun only to be slapped away by Beomgyu. Yeonjun laughs, leaning against Soobin’s side where he’s sitting on the arm of Soobin’s office chair. 

“Hyuka you’re literally dating Tyun, you meet me like two months ago,” he says in between giggles. 

“...Oh! Right, my bad!” he steps on Beomgyu’s foot when he tries to stop him from grabbing a bun again. 

Beomgyu huffs, resigning himself and crossing his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing as he stares at Yeonjun up and down. Yeonjun just smiles at him, cocking his head to the side in an act of innocence. Soobin watches the exchange quietly. 

“As long as you keep feeding us then it’s all good to me.” Beomgyu finally says, nodding to himself.

Yeonjun claps his hands twice, clearly satisfied with the final verdict. “Amazing! Just text me your favorite sweets and we can arrange it.”

Soobin snorts, watching the way Beomgyu’s eyes light up and he sits upright, taking his phone out of his pocket —and almost dropping it in his haste to pass it to Yeonjun— and excitedly beginning to tell the eldest all about his favorite treats. HueningKai sneaks another bun while Beomgyu is distracted, smiling at Soobin when the older man catches him, so he just makes a motion of keeping his mouth shut and HueningKai beams at him. 

“Well,” Yeonjun says with a sigh, propping himself off of the arm of the chair. “I have to go, Tyun and I have plans for later, so, see you tonight?” he directs the last bit to Soobin, hand playing absentmindedly playing with Soobin’s ear—a habit he picked up after finding out how soft and _stretchy_ as Yeonjun put it, his skin was—. 

Soobin nods, taking his hand gently and plating a kiss on it, watching how the tips of Yeonjun’s ears turn red and his smile turns shy despite the loving glint in his eyes.

“Yeah, see you tonight.”

The older man finishes saying his goodbyes and leaves, blowing a kiss to Soobin before closing the door to the office. 

“I like him,” Beomgyu says once it’s finally just the three of them.

“Just because he’s buying you food so you don’t turn him in to your co-workers,” HueningKai deadpans.

“I still like him!”

Soobin laughs, light and airy, his heart beating loudly in his ears and his blood rushing. He’s happy. And he wants to stay this way for a while if possible, even if it means having to put up with Beomgyu and Yeonjun’s bickering, HueningKai’s constant whining about their PDA and Taehyun’s judgmental glances when get overly mushy, really, he would put up with anything if it means staying by Yeonjun’s side.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! writing this was VERY FUN bc its two things that i love a lot, txt + deconan. i tried my best to make it coherent and linear bc i usually suck at longer than 7k fics so forgive me if sometimes it flows badly or something.  
> (also the stunt yj pulls during the heist is one kaito actually did on deconan so thats fun!)


End file.
